Blood and Roses
by blackveins
Summary: This is a continuation of my other works, but should be a fine stand alone. How did the poor boy handle it when his only friend stopped showing up to spend time with him? This is a quick short about one of the other students Severus met back in his school days.
1. Death to Homework

Once upon a time... Isn't that how all good fairy tales start? Severus tapped his quill on the parchment that lay before him as he stared across the library table. A girl from Ravenclaw shifted awkwardly under his absent gaze. Her movement caused his eyes to momentarily focus on her. Long straight black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, moderate complexion... He knew of a potion he could brew up that would clear up the pink rash on her skin. It did not appear to be an infection, but more of a reaction from a nervous tick.

She sat with her legs over the arm of a plush couch, and he looked down when she pulled her hair in front of her face presumably to hide from him. He was suppose to be writing a creative short story for his divination class. The story would be given to a classmate,and the classmate would examine it for hidden clues to the persons soul. His paper would not have his name on it,and the other student was suppose to figure out who he was from the story alone. The theory was, that if he truly poured his soul into his writing that picking out who he was would be a simple task.

As ridiculous as it seemed, it was far better than looking at a crystal ball. It was slightly more practical anyway. Not much, but slightly. The only problem was... What would he write? The instructions were to closed his eyes and write the story that bloomed in his heart... but he had sat with his eyes closed for an hour with no luck, and now was just trying to make something... anything... up. He found himself staring at the girl again. Wasn't she in his divination class? Perhaps she could help him. Ravenclaws were known for their creativity.

With a sigh Severus' head drooped. Who was he kidding. Why would a Ravenclaw want to help a Slytherin with their homework. He had actually been looking forward to this assignment, as Lily had told him that he should take up writing to aid in his concentration. Writing was supposedly a great way to process the world. But in the two months he had been journalling nightly his best entry thus far was this:

"So... I'm writing right now. Writing in my journal. Just writing and writing. Does writing get easier if you keep doing it? There's this really gross bug on the outside the window. I want to open the window the shoo it away, but its cold outside. At least there's a bug to write about though. Maybe if I'm quiet a bird will eat the bug. There aren't very many birds out today."

It was terribly boring, yes... but it did make him feel better. Maybe soon he would actually write his thoughts. Of course, he refused to do that until he had put proper wards on his journal. He received enough mockery from James' gang as it was, without them reading his deepest secrets. Maybe he would write a story about the dog he had owned since childhood. The dog was simply named Dog, but would be a good main character.

Once upon a time there was a dog-... Well it was more than he had before. Once again Severus blinked to find the Ravenclaw girl scratching her neck in nervous discomfort at his gaze. He looked down again, but managed to catch a glimpse of her pink cheeks. He felt vaguely ashamed of himself for embarrassing her, but chose to ignore the feeling. Focusing on it would only cause him to react similarly,and that would be a disgrace.

With finality Severus heaved a long sigh and let his head fall to his desk. The near deafening thwack sound his head made in the silent room was by far more painful than the impact. He considered groaning and feigning injury... but the act seemed idiotic. There was a policy he strongly lived by: "If it was something James would do, then he would never do it." Childish, but functional. At least it prevented him from acting like a moron.

Severus thought about trying to sit up and pretend the incident had never happened, but the risk of looking at the Ravenclaw girl was far to great. Instead he chose to keep his forehead on his parchment. Perhaps an idea would seep out of his brain and write itself for him. Eventually his neck started to cramp and he groaned slightly in response. Then there was a light coughing sound beside him, and he jumped up in surprise.


	2. Once Upon a Time is NOT Enough

He looked up to see the Ravenclaw standing beside him, he shuffled his feet in a attempt to distract her from his face while he rubbed at the red spot the table would have caused on his forehead. "Do you umm-... I mean... Help?" The girl was mumbling and he missed several of her words, but she appeared to be offering her assistance. Usually he would refuse and wait to work with Lily, or get it done himself... but it was due tomorrow and he hadn't seen Lily since Thursdays Gryffindor and Slytherin double potions... and she had sat by Captain Mop-head that day.

He thought of a number of sarcastic, witty, and mean retorts... but he was going to fail the class if he refused help, and Lily remained unreachable... Unable to verbally say 'Yes, please help me.' to a Ravenclaw, Severus only nodded. The girl pulled a chair closer, and they both cringed when it made a loud squeaking sound as it moved. Resigned to the fact that the situation would only get more awkward as time passed, Severus pushed his parchment toward her.

"Once upon a time there was a dog." The girl read aloud from the page. "Divination?" She asked, neither of them trying for eye contact. Severus nodded again, apparently fascinated by his view of the table. "Yeah... Free writing sucks. 'M always worried their going to read something weird out of it." The Ravenclaw grumbled. "I know right?!" Severus exclaimed. "I'll write about a rabbit that had a good day, and it'll come back saying I must have abandonment issues!" Severus exclaimed, keeping his voice in a low tone so as not to upset the librarian.

The girl giggled into her hand. "That was your paper? I overheard Brayden talking about it at the lunch table. Something about a butterfly always flying away from a rabbit." The girl was trying not to laugh, but Severus could feel his face flushing regardless. Whether or not the interpretation was spot on or not was irrelevant, the whole ordeal had been mortifying. Severus returned his head to the desk and sighed again.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to touch on a sore spot." The girl apologized. For some reason it didn't help. "I'm Auren." Said the girl quietly when the pause between words became uncomfortable for her. "Snape." Severus responded. He had stopped offering his first name when the nickname 'Snivellus' became a favorite of the Potter gang. "So... Tell me about the dog?" The girl asked. She really was trying hard to make a conversation out of this. Was it really worth it?

"Don't you have other friends?" Severus asked. He waited for an answer, but none tilted his head to the side so he could see her face through the oily black hair that hung over his eyes. She shook her head. He flinched when he saw a look that must be on his own face whenever he was asked the same question. It was... in the shortest of words... terrible.


	3. Tears of Heaven

After their study session, Severus and the Ravenclaw named Auren found themselves spending much more time together. Severus would be waiting outside of Lily's class to carry her books... but when she walked passed him and Auren strode out after he found himself walking with the raven haired Ravenclaw instead.

He sat outside every day for lunch and waited for Lily to join him under their favorite tree... but when it was Auren that found him waiting in the snow for someone that had not come for months, he could not refuse her a place at his side. Severus took little notice of the girl, and assumed only that she had as few other companions as he did.

Usually Auren would talk, and Severus would feign a listening ear. The girl tended to ramble, but Severus couldn't bring himself to mind it. It was better than listening to only the soft wind, or the chuckling of students mocking him from a distance. Spending time together became routine as Auren seemed to find every place he sat to wait for Lily... Except one.

Every afternoon that it rained, Severus would creep to the owlery and sit on the wall of the tower. He would hang his legs off the edge and wait. Lily would forget many things, and he would never reprimand her for it... but she never forgot to watch the rain. It was the only place on the school where there was no James, no Auren... no school.

Every day that it rained Lily would show up in the tower and stand at his side on the balcony. Sometimes they spoke about their weeks, sometimes she told him about James... but his favorite days were when they silently watched the rain together. They had done it every rainy day since they had arrived at the school.

At first Severus had been disgusted by the smell of wet owl feathers... but after a few years he came to see the greater purpose of choosing the owlery over any other tower. When the rain began it filled the air with the musky scent of wet feathers, dust, and owl droppings... but as the rain cascaded downward it carried the stench with it.

Somehow, the direct change from filthy to fresh let him recognize a scent of renewal that he had never noticed before. He could quite literally smell the rain. The scent of clean, the scent of the earth being born again as every drop of hate was washed away. The first time he had followed her their special spot, he had asked her why she came here.

"I want to watch the sky cry." She said in a wistful voice... and ever since then Severus had looked at the rain differently. It wasn't just water. It was the sky pouring out its sorrow on the world so that new life could be born from sadness. The way Lily put it, it was the worlds trust example of tears turning into laughter.

"How can a person possibly hope to understand true joy, without first knowing true sorrow." She whispered, her voice almost completely swallowed up by the pitter-patter of the rain. Sometimes he wasn't even sure if she noticed he was there with her... that even if he had never followed her to begin with that she would still come to this place and watch the sky cry.


	4. Tell Me About You

"Today is a particularly nice day." Severus noted, mostly to himself. Auren nodded from Lily's place beside him in the grass. If Lily came, Severus would tell Auren to move... but Lily had not come for a very long time... So he let Auren be. The Ravenclaw girl seemed particularly quiet today, contrary to her usual chatter. The girl seemed to like having someone to talk to.

Severus raised an eyebrow at her, intending to prompt her into some new story about that-one-boy-who-always-seemed-to-light-something-on-fire from the Ravenclaw house... The boy had come to be called Blister by most of the school. Auren stared back at him with sad eyes... perhaps Blister had managed to make it through the day unscathed... That would be a first.

Severus went back to watching the leaves clap like thousands of hands in the tree above him. Auren stayed silent for several more minutes as the afternoon ticked by. Auren tugged at the hat she usually wore to keep the sun off her face and scratched her neck nervously. That seemed odd, she only scratched her neck when she was particularly uneasy.

Severus looked at her again. Some kids bit their nails, some stuttered, Auren scratched her neck. Staring at her usually made her even more nervous so he continued. Auron looked at her shoes at her neck began turning a light reddish color. "What's your life back home like?" Auren asked, as her neck began showing tiny flecks of blood. That was unusual.

Sometimes she would toss out a 'How was your day?' or a 'What classes are you in this year?'... but she had never taken it to heart when he didn't respond... She had especially never gotten nervous about asking. Severus thought about her question very deeply, and then responded in mild hopes of keeping her neck from scarring. "Bad." It was the only way he felt like describing it.

"Oh... Whats your family like?" Auren asked, prodding into his personal life. Again Severus waited, and responded with only "Bad." He lay back down, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. No such luck. "Are you staying at school for summer vacation?" She asked, usually it wasn't brought up until after the vacation was over.

Severus considered not replying, but nodded despite himself. Auren stopped scratching and looked at the ground. "Would you mind if I stayed here with you?" Severus gave her the same curious look that had prompted the conversation. "Why?" He asked when she didn't answer. He watched as her eyes welled up with tears.

"My mum died last week and I got the owl this morning... I've got no home to go back to, but I didn't want to be in your way if you wanted rid of me." Auren whimpered, beginning to cry. Crying was not unlike her, but a death of a parent was a grave thing indeed. "Where is your father?" He asked, unsure as to whether or not he wanted an answer.

"He left me and mum when I was really little..." Auren mumbled, once again beginning to scratch her neck. Severus reached out a hand to stop the girl from clawing at her already sore instant his fingertips touched her hand she froze. Severus pulled his hand back and stared at it. That was the first time he had ever touched the other girl in the two, almost three years he had known her. Her skin left a light buzzing feeling on the tips of his fingers.

Did touching another person always feel that way? He didn't know, he couldn't remember the last time he had touched someone else. Severus looked up from his hand to her huge shimmering eyes. She looked like a deer captured in the light of a lantern... like she had no idea what to do next. "You may stay." He said, trying not to create a reaction that would cause more tears.

Auren flung herself into his arms and thanked him profusely... Severus would have lept back and told the girl to mind herself, but he was comfortable laying on the ground and that would require moving. Not only that, he had been the one to initiate contact, he felt it would be rude to order her to bugger-off now... He would never tell that having a girl lean against him as she did now was't actually that bad... Severus grimaced, but said nothing.

Auren thanking him would have sounded to an onlooker as though he had volunteered to personally see to her summer accommodations. Though it did occur to him that she had given him the option to refuse. Where would she have gone if he had turned her down? A dead mother, no father, and she never spoke of any other family... Severus decided to ask.

Where would you go if I had said 'no'?" He asked, tilting his head down to look at the raven haired girl now laying on his chest. He still had half a mind to order her away... but he didn't. "I bet I could make do in the forbidden forest pretty well." Auren replied, looking at the treeline rather than his face. Severus stared at the top of her head. She had to be joking. As he suspected she began laughing. Obviously it was a jest intended to confuse him.


	5. Summer Smiles

Summer was upon Severus before he had had a chance to notice the weather change. He fare welled his friends and watched them leave, knowing that each and every one of them would think of how much they missed him daily. There were hugs and tears, and promises to write soon... Ok, maybe James was the only person who had actually said they would miss him, even if the exact words had been "I'll miss having someone to mess with over the summer. You sure you don't want to join? I'm sure there's a broom cupboard at my parents for you to live in. So many spiders in there we probably wouldn't have to feed you!"... He liked to pretend it was an actual invitation.

Really his only friend leaving was Lily... She had only given him a quick hug and said "Bye Sev! Have a great summer!"... but it was the first hug he had gotten from her in a long time, and he intended to treasure it. Severus would probably have accepted if the cupboard invitation had come from Lily. Sirius had elbowed him in the ribs and murmured "Cute girlfriend." on his way to the horseless-thestral pulled carriages Severus rolled his eyes, Sirius had apparently decided that Severus had taken a fancy to Auren. Utter ridiculousness.

Auren appeared by his side moments after the Potter gangs departure and said"She's very beautiful." Severus gave a low sigh and responded with a simple "... She is... " Auren looked excited to hear him speak, and asked "Whats she like?" Without realizing it, Severus had not spoken for several days, but now words began to pour from his mouth like a river. Auren listened intently as Severus told her every detail of his beautiful Lily, and his words did not stop until the sun had begun to fall.

"You love her?"Auren asked, she had listened intently to every word he had spoken. Severus nodded, his words had run dry. In the last few hours he had used more words than he usually did in a full year. During his speech, they had wandered from the castle gate, through dozens of hallways and ended up in the astronomy tower. Severus gazed at the blooming stars and replied "Always."

Auren smiled, "I can see why." She answered. Severus didn't recall how it had happened, but the Ravenclaw girl was now leaning on his shoulder. They sat quietly for a while, and watched the sky light up with thousands of glowing stars. It was only a few minutes before Auren began telling him new stories on the happenings of her day. He had actually grown quite accustom to her voice, and when he spent a few days without it he found himself wishing to hear it again.

The summer days passed quickly and pleasantly, without much incident... Severus had begun actually enjoying the Ravenclaw's company.


	6. Run Away, I'll Attack

It was in Severus' 6th year that he took it upon himself to see what the troublesome Marauders were up to when they crept out of the castle... Little did he know what he would happen upon. He remembered little of the night... Flashing white fangs, glowing red eyes, bristling brown fur... Severus had come nose to snout with a werewolf.

The stench of dog intermingled with blood, days later the thought of it still made him sick. Days later he still lay in the infirmary shaking. He had been asked by Headmaster Dumbledore not to say anything, and he had spoken not a word since the night it had happened. Auren sat at his bedside reading a book, as she had every evening after she had gotten out of class.

Lily had come once or twice to wish him well, laying a black daisy on his bed after several failed attempts to speak with him. She stood at the foot of his bed now, he noticed in a daze. Lily, his Lily... She was shaking, her cheeks wet with tears. More than anything he wanted to call out to her, to tell her he would be alright... but no words came.

After a week, Auren had began to sleep in the chair next to his bed, and Lily stopped by every day... if only for a few minutes to set down a flower and leave. After he had been stuck in the bed for twelve days, he was declared physically fit... but he still did not speak. He looked around the room, the clouding gone from his eyes... but he saw nothing.

It was the thirteenth night of his stay that the rain began to fall. Severus stared out the window and daydreamed dimly of joining Lily in the owlery but the world still felt so far away. Like there was something he needed to grasp about the world but couldn't. Auren had been talking to him, but he had not been listening... when she came.

Lily stood at the foot of his bed, her eyes more red and puffy than usual. She turned to Auren and requested a moment. Auren nodded, and left without a word. Lily sat in the chair at his bedside and wept. For the first time in thirteen days, Severus could hear her. "Please... Please Sev, come back... I miss you so much..." She needed him. He needed to fight the silence in his mind for her.

Severus opened his mouth to tell her he loved her... but something else came out. "Did you know?" He croaked, his voice hoarse from lack of use. Did you know? What was that suppose to mean?! He hadn't even been thinking that... Lily looked up at him with shocked eyes. It was hard to tell if he was thrilled he had spoken, or devastated at what he had said. "Yes" She whimpered, tears flooding down her cheeks anew.

Severus tried to retract the question, to apologize for asking... but what came out was "James, you love him don't you." Inside Severus scrambled to pull the words back out of the air, to take back what he had said... but outside he held a still, stern glare. Lily's mouth flapped open and closed for a few minutes, before words followed the movement.


	7. Make Then Cry

"I-... He-... You don't understand. I-... You were my best friend..." Her weeping answer didn't fill the empty space the question left settling between them. "I'll always love you..." Lily whined, but the voice using Severus' mouth responded before he could. "Lier. You love that dog that follows him around more than me." The voice spat, and Severus wished he had never let his mouth open in the first place.

"Severus..." Lily was determined, but avoided his accusation. "The only reason I would love them more than you was if you became a death eater." Her words were bold, they made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He has mentioned to her in their childhood that his mother and father were death eaters, and that he had considered becoming a death eater spy for Dumbledore.

The voice using his mouth lapped up the happiness like a fire devouring tissue paper. "Maybe I should." The voice spat. Lily looked as confused as he felt at the words. To his horror the voice continued. "You have no sense. You're in move with a boy you hate, you're best buddies with a deadly animal. Maybe I'm just another one of your pet timebombs ready to go off?" Even for his darkest thoughts on his darkest days, the words were harsh.

Severus could feel his eyes watering as his voice still continued to throw daggers at the woman he loved. "I'll become a death eater. At least then I can keep more people safe than your other 'friends' do. I could actually help people." That was all Lily could take, she threw the black daisy she held at him and stormed out. Severus wanted to beg her to forgive him... but the more he thought about it... the more he realized that he had meant every word.

He had been wanting to say every one of those spiteful words since he had realized the creature that had attacked him had been Lupin. Auren sulked back into the room and slipped into the bedside chair silently. "Don't you want to know what happened?" Severus spat at his companion.

Auren shrugged her shoulders, seeming pleased to hear him speaking. "You'll tell me when you're ready." She whispered, opening her book. Thirteen days of silence had been broken, and the dam would not be rebuilt quickly. "Her 'friend' is an animal. Not even human! He attacked me. Can you believe this wretched school lets non-human beasts parade around as normal students? I hate the lot of them." Severus growled angrily.

Auren's eyes blossomed with tears, and she threw down her book. "Well if thats how you really feel about it then fine!" She shrieked. With that, she followed in Lily's lead, and Severus was left to wonder what had just happened. In less than an hourglass turn he had just lost the only two people who had ever befriended him.

Auren and Lily didn't speak to him for the rest of the school year. When he did see one of them, they would clutch their books and hurry off in the other direction with tears in their eyes. Severus didn't see Auren around the campus that summer when he stayed, and he quietly wondered if she really was staying in the forest because of him.


	8. In The End

Severus spent most of seventh year trying to figure out what had happened that night in the infirmary. Lily spent her days laughing with the Marauder gang, and Severus tried not to be in her way. He still waited around the campus at his old spots in case either Lily or Auren ever wished to speak to him... but they never came.

Lily didn't even come to the owlery when it rained, and he sat on the ledge alone as tears fell from the sky. Severus spoke to Dumbledore and did end up becoming a death eater, at least he would be able to bring information to the school that way.

Severus' mother passed away one night during seventh year, and he found out via the death eaters he worked for as they laughed about it. Severus cried with only his pet Dog at his side that day. For all intents and purposes, he was alone.

In the last week of his schooling, Dumbledore approached him and asked if he wanted to stay at the school as a potions master. Severus would have declined, but the night before, Voldemort had requested he find a job position at Hogwarts to continue 'spying' for him. Severus agreed, knowing he had signed his life away when he had gotten the mark. Hogwarts was the safest and most useful place for him to be.

The last day of class Auren shuffled up to Severus and apologized for getting so mad at him. She explained that she had been bitten by a vampire when she was a child, and had suffered with it ever since. "What? Why didn't you tell me?!" Severus asked, more shocked then bothered.

"I... did?" Auren responded. Severus stared at her as memories of their past and her ramblings flooded back to him... She had! "I... I thought you were joking." Severus said, confusion evident in his voice. She had said so many things that he had assumed she had been joking about, like being a vampire, knowing latin, being from Romania...

"I never joke." Auren said, a deep level of gravity in her voice. Severus' brain kept flipping through things he had assumed she had only been saying because he looked like he wasn't listening. Like that her least favorite color was white because it looked like the unicorn blood her mother use to drink, that she would get violently ill if she ate vegetables, that she would sneak out to see the gamekeeper because sometimes he would let her bite his livestock.

"Never." Auren said, as she turned to walk away. Severus was silent in his swirling thoughts. She had told him her first kiss had been with a Hufflepuff, but he had run away screaming because of her fangs... That time she said 'I love you'. Severus froze. She had told him she loved him. No one except Lily had said that and been serious, so he had just assumed it was a joke. There had been no other explanation.

"Wait!" Shouted Severus, but when he looked up to where Auren had been, she was gone. Simply vanished. There was no carriage, no broomstick... Just gone. Just then, Lily appeared behind them and cleared her throat. Severus turned around and nearly fell to his knees with shock.

Lily let go of James' hand and strode over to embrace Severus. Softly she gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered "I forgive you." in his ear. All thoughts of Auren suddenly vanished. No matter what his new life threw at him, those words would be his saving grace. Lily, his Lily... Forgave him.

~ The End ~

(( A/N: Please take a quick second to review! The story that takes place directly after this one is Black Daisy ))


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